Daniel Ramia

Daniel’s journey to becoming a Spinal Champion began in 2019, when he was diagnosed with multilevel degenerative disc disease. His condition included spinal canal stenosis and foraminal narrowing, leading to constant low back pain, debilitating muscle spasms, and the loss of his favorite hobbies like boating, gardening, and woodworking. After retiring from a 34-year career in higher education, his first surgery—a laminectomy and fusion from L2–L5—did not provide relief. Instead, the pain worsened, leaving him reliant on ER visits, pain management, and years of physical therapy and dry needling.

By 2023, Daniel sought new surgical opinions, which revealed that his initial fusion had been performed flat, without the proper lumbar curvature. In January 2024, he underwent an extensive revision surgery: an anterior lumbar interbody fusion at L5–S1, posterior hardware removal, and extension of fusion from T9–S1, decompressions, osteotomies, and scar tissue repair. The surgery restored his spine’s curvature and provided the relief he had been seeking for five years.

Recovery was long and filled with challenges, but ultimately transformative. Today, Daniel is free from the spasms and pain that dominated his life for half a decade. He has returned to gardening, biking, and reclaiming the life he once feared was gone. His story is one of perseverance, self-advocacy, and renewed hope.